Citizens of
"West Carlisle" Petition for involuntary annexation
of Carlisle, Polk County, Iowa

Public Meeting: 4:30 PM Sunday June 14, 1998
Submitted to City Development Board: June 15, 1998

263-2.3(368)
We, Certain Electors of Allen Township, Polk County, Iowa, do petition the City Development Board of the State of Iowa for an involuntary annexation involving the City of Carlisle and land legally described as follows:

Beginning at the intersection of the North right-of way line of Relocated Highway 65/Relocated Iowa Highway 5 and the east right-of-way line of Southeast 36th Street (Watts Road); thence North along the East right-of-way line of said Southeast 36th Street (Watts Road) to the North right-of -way line of Southeast 52nd Avenue (Cole Avenue); thence North along the East line of the Northwest ¼ of the Northeast ¼ of Section 30, Township 78 North, Range 23 West of the 5th P.M., in Polk County, Iowa, to the Northeast corner of the Northwest ¼ of the Northeast ¼ of said Section 30; thence West along the South line of the Southeast ¼ of section 19, Township 78 North, Range 23 West of the 5th P.M., in Polk County, Iowa, to a point on the south line of the southeast ¼ of said Section 19, said point being 990.0 feet East of the West line of the Southeast ¼ of said Section 19; thence North along a line being 990.0 feet East of and parallel with the West line of the Southeast ¼ of said Section 19, to the Southeast corner of Lot 1, "Reinke Place," an Official Plat; thence North along the East line of said Lot 1,"Reinke Place" to the Northeast corner of said Lot 1, "Reinke Place"; thence West along the North line of said Lot 1, "Reinke Place" to the Southeast corner of Lot 3, "Lawrence Acres," an Official Plat; thence North along the East line of said Lot 3 and the East line of Lot B, of said "Lawrence Acres" to the Northeast corner of Lot B, of said "Lawrence Acres", also being the East/West centerline of said section 19 and Section 20, Township 78 North, Range 23 West of the 5th P.M., in Polk County, Iowa; thence East along the East/West centerline of said Sections 19 and 20, to the Northeasterly right-of-way line of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (Union Pacific) in said Section 20; thence Southeasterly along said Northeasterly right-of-way line to the West right-of-way line of Relocated Highway 65; thence South and Southwesterly along the West and Northwesterly right-of-way line of Relocated Highway 65/Relocated Iowa Highway 5 to the point of beginning, all now included in and forming a part of Polk County, Iowa

more commonly as follows:
All of Allen Township, Polk County, Iowa that lies within the following boundaries and man made features: From the Northwest juncture of US 65 and the Des Moines city limits on the Southwest corner then North along the Des Moines city limits to what is locally known as Watrous Ave. Eastward and then Southeast along the Des Moines city limits to SE 44th Ave., then Southeasterly along the Union Pacific railroad right of way to the juncture with US highway 65. The boundary then follows US 65 South and subsequently West to the Starting Juncture.

2.3(1) GENERAL STATEMENT OF PROPOSAL
The area of the petition, henceforth called "West Carlisle" lies in South Central Polk County, Iowa. It is in unincorporated Polk County. The residents of this area have attempted to proceed with a voluntary annexation to the City of Carlisle but have not been able to overcome a moratorium agreement between Carlisle and the city of Des Moines. That agreement was reached without consent or suffrage of the property owners in West Carlisle and presumed to extend legal jurisdiction over those property owners suppressing their right/privilege of petitioning under 368.7, voluntarily, without said jurisdiction being extended by statute or suffrage. We have appealed to each level of Government available, from the Polk County Supervisors to the office of the Governor for relief and each level has claimed impotence in furthering our pursuit of a voluntary annexation in a timely manner.

We citizens of West Carlisle must thusly resort to an involuntary annexation pursuant to chapter 368.11 of the Code of Iowa in order to preserve our community, also to ensure that we receive the same level of municipal services we now enjoy while safeguarding against inflated costs of future improvements and anxiously to preserve our quality of life. We would have been content to await municipal services and our reaction would have been favorable to the provider, but the action of Des Moines and their stated intention to not deliver services, and proven practice of NOT delivering services to residents of prior annexations has compelled us to be proactive for the following reasons:

Our community spirit resides in Carlisle. We nurture our children alongside the children within the city limits, attending the same schools, churches, sporting organizations and clubs. We also enjoy the blessings of a common society with the citizens residing within the city boundaries.

Our children will continue to attend Carlisle/Hartford schools where our input to the city council of Carlisle is a vital part of ensuring the well being of those children both on and off school grounds. Presently our input is informal but accepted and we do not wish to chance being ignored on matters affecting the welfare of our children and relatives.

We object that Des Moines has stated the intention of not providing sanitary sewer to the area North of 57

th Avenue. We also ask the board to recognize that Des Moines has stated that the area South of 57th Avenue would be "most economically served with sanitary sewer by negotiating an agreement with the city of Carlisle"(Des Moines petition for involuntary annexation, (May) 1998, page 45) which would likely be at an inflated cost

We fear that Des Moines intends to take over fire protection which we now enjoy under the umbrella of Carlisle. Without the equipment and training that Carlisle has acquired in rural fire fighting, our service from Des Moines, if required, would not meet our needs. This fear is amplified by reading the dismal projections of Des Moines for extending water services into the area, a million dollar pumper truck is worthless without a hydrant to draw from or the equipment and training to adapt.

Des Moines is attempting to increase land area by 22% while increasing the police force by less than 2%. Regardless of any extraordinary efforts by individual police officers this would result in a diminution of law enforcement when compared to our current coverage by the Polk County Sheriff. There are already too many demands on the Des Moines officers to broaden their area of responsibility by that much.

Based on the conduct of the City of Des Moines concerning their prior annexation of the Easter Lake area and the zoning changes that placed HUGE multifamily dwellings in single family home neighborhoods along Evergreen Avenue, seemingly at the whim of a developer, we feel that Des Moines cannot maintain its' own vision, let alone safeguard or ensure our quality of life.

We fear that the City of Des Moines will unduly burden existing businesses with restrictions that have not been in suffered under Polk County jurisdiction. For this reason we wish to "grandfather" existing businesses. We also wish to "grandfather" livestock ownership.

We feel that the Carlisle City Council will aid us in the wholesome development of West Carlisle, maintaining an empathy for us as citizens, constituents and neighbors. We also feel that that same council is more inclined, as a body, to foster the concerns of the entire city, as opposed to the partisan politics of Des Moines, because of the feeling of community present in Carlisle and absent in Des Moines.

In summary, we citizens of the area of West Carlisle wish to preserve our spirit of community and quality of life. This petition is being filed both as a reaction to the petition of Des Moines, and defensively , in order to avoid being subjected to that cities historically proven disinterest regarding treatment of citizens in prior areas of annexation. We as a group are also concerned by the stated inability to serve our area by Des Moines in their petition and the possible financial impact that would result from that city contracting for those services which they cannot provide. We also feel that our concerns and needs would be better served by the City of Carlisle where we presently function as a community and would continue to send our children for schooling and nurturing.
We have endeavored to function within the rules of 368.7 only to be thwarted by a moratorium that initially denies our rights/ privileges conferred by the Code of Iowa equally upon all Iowans and ultimately clashes with the rights outlined in Article I of the Constitution of the State of Iowa. Thus this "involuntary" petition should be looked upon as a "voluntary" action in lieu of our entitlements under the Code of Iowa that have been effectively quashed by that moratorium agreement. This petition is, in spirit, a voluntary action and is "involuntary" only by name and definition of the section of the Code of Iowa we are forced to function under.

2.3(5)Population DensityThere are 1543.5 acres of land in West Carlisle and approximately 97 residents. The population density per acre is 0.0628

2.3(6)Potential Growth in PopulationWith the development of the area around the interchanges of US 65 and Highway 5 there will be a need for residential development within short commuting distances of that area. The numbers given here mirror the development area projections of the City of Des Moines April petition, page 21.
The 20 year and ten year projections are derived from the following numbers:

The population of West Carlisle
at this time approximately 97 density per acre 0.06 persons
in 10 years would be: 351 density per acre 0.22 persons
in 20 years would be: 1062 density per acre 0.68 persons
2.3(7)Residential, Commercial and Industrial Development

There are approximately 1200 acres - vacant and undevelopable due to steep
slopes and the Red Rock Flood Pool
There are approximately 75 acres - vacant and available for residential or
commercial infill development
There are approximately 305 acres - vacant and available for residential
development in Carlisle.
Future growth of Carlisle is limited to the East because of the Middle River flood plain and to the North by the Red Rock flood pool. To the West, development is limited by the North river flood plain. Growth is possible along the "Scotch Ridge" to the Southwest but the area is currently prime agricultural land and is not in the city limits. The obvious and most easily facilitated growth is into West Carlisle, the probability of this area being developed is enhanced by the newly completed Bypass, US Highway 65/69 and relocated Highway 5.

The area is mainly rural in character. The logical extension of sewer from East to West would require early development in the West to be of larger lot sizes to support septic systems. The larger lots would keep the housing density at a level consistent with the rural/ small town atmosphere that the residents of this area wish to maintain and provide a buffer or transition zone from the crowded developments now occurring in the adjacent areas of Des Moines.

It is also logical to note that the two interchanges that Carlisle would control by acceptance of this petition would develop into an office park/industrial area similar to the area on the opposite side of the metropolitan area where I35/80 , highway 141 and Douglas Avenue meet. If this development were to be limited to the East side of US 65 and directly adjacent to the highway on the West, it would create an ideal environment for short range commuting and a segregated, centralized, commercial area with the residential areas that will develop within the boundaries of West Carlisle and the residential areas of Carlisle. Traffic along Army Post road will diminish considerably with the completion of the relocation of US 65 making the traffic patterns more in line with a secondary road carrying local traffic instead of a major artery which will also be more conducive to residential development.
2.3(8)
Topography
There is a "ridge" that runs approximately along the boundary delineated by the Des Moines city limits on the East, this ridge is the separator of the Yeader Creek and Des Moines River/North River watersheds. Natural drainage throughout West Carlisle is towards Carlisle. There is another feature that runs approximately along SE 57th Avenue that separates the Des Moines River and North River watersheds. There is an approximate drop of 100 feet in elevation from the apex near SE 36th Street and SE 57th Avenue and the Northeast boundary of the Union Pacific railroad right of way. The area North of the Union Pacific railroad right of way as well as a approximately 6 acres within West Carlisle has a permanent easement as the Red Rock flood pool. Moderate slopes prevail. All but a small percentage of the land in the northern part of the area that is cut by ravines or steep slopes is suitable for development. The natural slope of the land and the existing railroad right of way would easily facilitate installation of a sanitary sewer trunk line to the Northern part of the area while the undeveloped land to the East of US 65 would facilitate extension into the Southern part of the area. Water mains could also be easily run throughout the area.

2.3(9)Financial Assets and Liabilities
The Assets that Carlisle would acquire would include full control of both sides of US 65 and the enhanced development prospects of the interchange at Army Post Road. The city of Carlisle has determined that West Carlisle would generate sufficient revenue to be mostly self supportive.

Water
Most if not all of the homes in the area are served by wells. Service would be extended into the area contingent upon development

Sanitary Sewer
The homes in the area are presently served by septic systems. Sanitary sewer would be extended into the area contingent upon development.

Police
The Carlisle Police Department would patrol the area or a 28E agreement with Polk County would be reached.

Fire Department
The Carlisle Volunteer fire Department would continue to provide services at or above the present level.

Roads and Streets
There are currently 9.4 miles of paved road, 3.6 miles of gravel ( excluding Des Moines city boundaries which are their responsibility) and 1 mile of level B road in West Carlisle. Total miles excluding level B is 13. Maintenance would be undertaken by Carlisle or by a 28E with Polk County. Current average cost for Polk County maintenance is $17,700 annually

2.3(10)Municipal Services
Water
Most if not all of the homes in the area are served by wells. Service would be extended into the area contingent upon development. There is a restrictive easement of the Williams Pipeline that may require the area to be served by Carlisle on the East and the Des Moines waterworks on the West of the pipeline. There is a 12 inch main along SE 36th Street, South of Army Post Road. The Des Moines Waterworks, a municipal utility independent of the city of Des Moines, owns that main.

Carlisle operates a self-contained water utility system. The source of the supply is a shallow sand and gravel aquifer, commonly known as the Racoon Valley Aquifer which is tapped by four shallow wells which range in depth from 48 feet to 56 feet. The combined pumping capacity of the four wells is 800 gallons per minute. The systems elevated storage capacity is 350,000 gallons. Consumption averages 350,000 gallons per day and peaks at approximately 500,000 gallons. The production and treatment facilities hav the capacity to produce and treat approximately 20% more water than the current demand. It anticipated that future commercial and industrial development in West Carlisle will draw water into the area either by extension of the Carlisle system or by entering into a wholesale water purchase agreement with the Des Moines water works and extending the 12 inch main that runs along SE 36th Street. In either case the cost of extension is : $35 per foot for a 12 inch main and $25 per foot for 8 inch feeder main, both would incur engineering, acquisition and surface restoration costs.

Sanitary Sewer
The homes in the area are presently served by septic systems. Sanitary sewer would be extended into the area contingent upon development. It would accommodated by gravity flow. The change in elevation is between 150 and 200 feet

Carlisle operates a self-contained wastewater utility system. The treatment facility is a four cell aerated lagoon system with direct discharge to the Des Moines River. It was expanded and upgraded in 1995-1996 and has a design capacity of 1,500,000 gallons per day with a peak load capacity of 5,7500,000 gallons. The current average load is 400,000 gallons per day. The municipal system currently serves 98% of Carlisle and does not extend into West Carlisle.
Trunk sanitary sewer (8 inch force main and 12" gravity main) can be extended for approximately $40 per foot, 8 inch gravity main can be extended for approximately $30 per foot, both would also incur engineering, acquisition and surface restoration costs.

Garbage Removal
All of the residents currently contract for the removal of refuse. They would continue to do so until the City of Carlisle wishes to assume the responsibility. Most of the area is in multi- acre estates or farms, open burning during the first week of the month would facilitate brush removal and maintenance.

Police
The Carlisle Police Department would patrol the area or a 28E agreement with Polk County would be reached. If undertaken by the Carlisle Police, an additional officer may be added for all of Carlisle in order to give more depth to the current staffing and would result in enhanced law enforcement throughout the area.

Fire Department
The Carlisle Volunteer fire Department would continue to provide services at or above the present level.

Library
The Carlisle public library at 135 School Street would provide the same services that they presently do.

2.3(11)Effect of Proposal and Alternative ProposalsThis proposal would be mostly self sufficient in the immediate future and will generate revenues greatly exceeding cost in the foreseeable future. The cost of providing sanitary sewer to the area would be at the same rate that the citizens within the current city limits would pay when provided. Water would also be at the rate current residents would pay, when provided. Road maintenance, if provided by a 28E would be equal to what the territory now receives. If provided by Carlisle it would be at levels agreed upon by both the property owners and the city of Carlisle. At any rate the increased cost of providing services to this area will be more than offset by the increase in revenues from West Carlisle over the following ten and 20 year periods.

If this petition is dismissed the citizens of West Carlisle would have to pay an inflated cost for sanitary sewer if annexed by Des Moines and that city contracts with Carlisle for sewer. Road maintenance would be extremely diminished, evidenced by the Des Moines maintenance of SE 36th Street, SE 34th Street and SE Watrous which are rarely graded and snow removal is accomplished presently by West Carlisle citizens with tractors until that city gets around to it. We also feel that Des Moines has underlying intentions for industrial development in this area that would not be in the best interests of the people now residing there. To summarize, the residents of West Carlisle would not benefit from dismissal of this petition and subsequent annexation into Des Moines, the taxes would be higher, the services would not be delivered and their community would be severed.

2.3(13)Plans for Agreements
We have discussed the issues with the Carlisle council with a number of options presented. As a group of Citizens we are not empowered to commit the city or county governments to an agreement. This is the current status of the decisions:

Carlisle is debating whether to add to the present police force or to develop a 28E with the Polk County Sheriff. There has been an expressed desire to add depth to their current police force, the acceptance of this petition would position the city of Carlisle to enhance their law enforcement with the subsequent revenues.

Carlisle is debating whether to add to public works for road maintenance or to develop a 28E with Polk County. Average cost of maintenance is $17,700. The Polk County engineering department has recognized the economy of scale serving this area would bring since they would be moving equipment into the area to service less than 6 miles of road that would lie outside the Carlisle city limits. Carlisle has also recognized the cost of equipment acquisition.

2.3(14)Plans for Agreement/Shared Roads

Des Moines and Carlisle, in their moratorium agreement, paragraph 5, stipulate that the first to annex shall encompass the full extent of any public right-of-way. In accordance with this agreement Des Moines is responsible for:

All roads to the West of , and including SE 36

th Street.

Watrous Avenue until it turns South into West Carlisle.

All other roads are either State, or County responsibility.

2.3(15)Territory
None of the territory described in this petition as West Carlisle lies within a city.
2.3(16) not applicable